The Three Houses of Hyperdimension

A Fire Emblem: Three Houses & Hyperdimension Neptunia Crossover Fan Fiction

by Derald Snyder

Episode 35: Interrogating Shez

"Huh...?!" Shez blinked, finding herself in a dark spatial landscape. Before her stood an androgynous humanoid dressed in white, a pale-skinned youth with short white hair and red eyes. "Arval? What happened?"

"Oh dear, if you're here that can only mean that you've lost consciousness in reality," Arval lamented. "Which means that Byleth has triumphed over you once again. What a shame. I thought you might have actually stood a chance this time..."

"...the last thing I remember was a bird attacking me from behind, and then..." Shez shook her head. "Ugh, my head hurts... probably how he knocked me out..."

"Most likely. In your defense, a bird of prey inside a building like that is the last thing any rational mind would expect," Arval shrugged. "But on a positive note, at least that Kronya got away thanks to you."

"Small comfort. So what happens now?" Shez inquired.

"Well, I can only infer, but it's safe to assume that when you wake up, you'll be restrained and most likely interrogated by the Ashen Demon or the authorities," Arval stated. "I doubt there will be any chance to escape; they're not going to take any chances after you killed so many law enforcement officers..."

"It's not like I enjoyed doing it. But orders are orders. Mercenaries like us simply kill who we're told to kill, and get paid for it. That's all," Shez sighed. She suddenly winced in pain as she put a hand to her head, her vision beginning to swim. "What..."

"Oops, looks like you're about to wake up. Get ready for a splitting headache," Arval said. "Just remember, no matter what happens, I'll always be with you, my partner in destiny."

*Back in reality...*

"Uuggggghhh..." Shez groaned as she came to, gritting her teeth from her head's throbbing. (Arval wasn't kidding about the headache...) She realized that she'd been chained to the wall, with heavy shackles around her wrists and ankles, though there was just enough slack to move her feet a little. Her vision returned, showing the inside of a jail cell... but the sudden light coming into her eyes triggered her headache, the merc groaning loudly as she gritted her teeth from the pain...

"Well, now, sounds like our little lass is coming around," said a male voice with an accent she couldn't quite place... a man with black hair and a single white streak stepped into view, dressed in a strange combination of suit and robe, a large hawk perched on his shoulder.

"YOU!" Shez yelled. "You're the one who sicced that bird on me! Damn you! Ah-aggggghh..." she grunted from her head's throbbing.

"Sounds like you could use some aspirin or ibuprofen," the man half-snarked. "Simon Blackquill, prosecutor. And you're apparently Shez, formerly of Berling's Mercenaries..."

"What do you mean apparently?!" Shez hissed. "I won't tell you anything!"

"Hmph... that's what they all say," Blackquill smirked as he unlocked the cell door, pulling it open and stepping inside. "After we restrained you, I asked that Byleth about your connection to him... he said that he remembers wiping out that merc group, but he never saw you among their ranks..."

"He's lying!" Shez shot back. "I engaged him personally and he cut me down! If it hadn't been for G- for that man, I wouldn't even be alive now...!"

"Is that so?" Blackquill said. "Well, I did some checking into that mercenary group, and I found something quite interesting..." Reaching into his robe, he pulled out a photo of a young man with short and slightly spiky black hair that covered one eye. "Does this one look familiar to you?"

"Uh..." Shez blinked, trying to focus despite the headache. "I... he looks familiar, but I've never seen him before..."

"This man was the one who managed to hold his own the longest against Byleth in combat," the prosecutor explained. "When I showed this photo to him, he recognized him immediately. And his name was... Shez."

"Wh... what?" Shez froze in shock. "Wh-what are you saying...?"

"We took a sample of your blood. There's been evidence of genetic tampering," Blackquill abruptly shifted gears. "While we don't have definitive proof, it's quite likely that you're an opposite-sex clone of this man, genetically modified with either the Maker gene or something else entirely..."

"NO! You lie!" Shez screamed as she strained against her shackles- only to cry out and recoil as Taka began to assault her, the bird swiftly whistled back by Blackquill. "I- I remember what happened clearly! There's no way what you're saying is true...!"

"But do you remember anything before that fateful encounter?" Blackquill pressed. "Any prior mission you went on? Where you were born, where you grew up?"

"I-..." Shez stopped as she tried to recall. "I... I... I can't... I can't remember... I don't remember anything..."

"I see. So that memory of Byleth cutting you down was likely implanted by whoever cloned you to begin with," Blackquill stated bluntly.

(Whoa, I didn't see that coming,) Arval's voice spoke up. (I had no reason to doubt that you were who you said you were, but this man's making a pretty convincing argument...)

"Sh-shut up..." Shez grunted, her headache flaring up again.

"In denial, are we?" Blackquill said deadpan. "Well, here's another interesting tidbit for you... about the assassin you helped get away. Kronya, was it?"

"What about her?" Shez grunted through gritted teeth.

"Well, Professor Byleth is pretty convinced that she's dead, and the one you've been working with is an impostor," Blackquill said. "However, we've now learned his assessment might be... inaccurate."

"Of course it's inaccurate! I've seen Kronya almost every day! Of course she's not dead!" Shez said in protest.

"What I'm saying is, she may not be the original Kronya," Blackquill asserted, pulling out another photo, showing the very woman in question. "Tell me, what do you make of this picture? Do you recognize her?"

"That's Kronya, obviously," Shez snarked. "...Wait, what's with that hole in her head?"

"This photo was taken at the Lowee Guild's autopsy section several months ago," Blackquill elaborated. "When Byleth cornered her for killing his father, she was suddenly headshot by a sniper- likely to keep her from spilling any secrets about those who slither in the dark."

"...That's impossible," Shez said quietly.

"Well, let me show you something else, then," Blackquill pulled out a third photo, this one showing the floor of the courthouse hallway, with a long thin puddle of some sort of clear goo. "When Byleth was pursuing your partner, he managed to cut off one of her tails, and it suddenly changed into this substance. Do you know anything about this?"

(Wait, that kind of looks like the substance we saw in some of the test tubes in Ghetsis' lab, doesn't it?) Arval spoke up again. (Is he saying that the Kronya we know was created from this stuff...? Who knows, maybe you were as well; not that I'm judging.)

"No no no... that can't be true..." Shez whimpered. "Was Ghetsis... just using us as his pawns this whole time...?"

"Who is this Ghetsis?" Blackquill raised an eyebrow. Shez's head shot up with eyes wide, realizing that she had let something important slip. "I'm guessing that's the name of your employer... or rather, your creator."

"NO! Shut up!" Shez screeched as she strained against her shackles again. "I'm not a freak! I can't be- Aaaaaahhh!" she cried out as Taka attacked her again.

"Taka, enough," Blackquill ordered. "We've gotten what we need out of this one. We're leaving." The hawk obediently flew back to his shoulder, the prosecutor turning to exit the cell. "Perhaps you should start reevaluating your life choices, Miss Shez, if everything you've thought you knew was in fact, a lie..." Closing the door shut, he went on his way.

"No... dammit, no...!" Shez grunted as tears began to stream down her face.

(If it's any consolation, this was a revelation and a half to me as well,) Arval spoke again. (Does this mean that we've been together since the very beginning, then, and I only awakened just recently? Too bad we're not in a position to get any answers from that Ghetsis... don't think I'm being heartless or not considering your emotions, but one of us needs to stay level-headed here...)

"(sniffle)... thanks, Arval..." Shez whispered, hoping no one could hear.

*Chief Magistrate's Office*

"And that's what I was able to find out," Blackquill reported to Weldmar von Hevring, Byleth and Rei Ryghts standing nearby. "It seems that Miss Shez was simply so occupied with thoughts of revenge against our professor here, she hadn't even stopped to think about her life beforehand..."

"I almost f-feel sorry f-for her now..." Rei said sadly.

"I don't," Byleth stated bluntly. "It's no excuse for all the things she's done. But if someone else wants to take a shot at rehabilitating her, I'll keep my own council on that."

"So we have a name for her handler now," Weldmar mused. "And it's reasonable to infer that this 'Ghetsis' not only cloned Shez, but that Kronya as well..."

"He probably did that to catch me off-guard," Byleth cut in. "And I wouldn't be surprised if he'd cloned Edelgard as well..."

"What surprises me is the fact that Governor Arundel hasn't taken any action on his niece's behalf," Blackquill said. "Do you know anything about that, Chief Magistrate?"

"I did contact him about the case, but all he said was that he would let the process play out," Count Hevring recalled. "But his tone indicated that he didn't really care what happened to Edelgard... quite unlike the Arundel I once knew."

"Forgive me for suggesting such a thing, Your Honor, but what if he isn't the one you knew?" Byleth ventured.

"Eh? W-what d-do y-you mean...?" Rei turned to him, nonplussed.

"Yes, please elaborate, professor," Weldmar pressed.

"The day before she was arrested, I noticed Edelgard seemed distracted about something, to the point she paid no attention in class," Byleth began. "I used the fact that Hubert had skipped class to hold her responsible and put her in detention so we could talk in private. And she told me something very disturbing..."

"About Arundel, I presume?" Blackquill guessed.

"Yes. She said that after Arundel became governor, his personailty changed completely. Before that, he'd been far more loving and doting, but now only treats her decently out of obligation... not to mention letting the pirated games black market run rampant. And I trust my student's judgement."

"Hmph. Now that you mention it, I remember one time when I was about to prosecute one of those illegal sellers, only for the Chief Prosecutor to suddenly assign the case to someone else at the last moment. I went to the courtroom to watch the proceedings out of curiosity, and that prosecutor did an absolutely abysmal job, leaving the judge no choice but to acquit that charlatan. I had a few choice words for that prosecutor when all was said and done... but now I wonder if perhaps the governor made a call to the Chief Prosecutor's office..."

"Lord Arundel does seem to keep the Chief Prosecutor on a tight leash, from what I've observed," Count Hevring mused. "But, I knew that man had some skeletons in his closet, so I believed that Lord Arundel was simply keeping him honest..."

"To be fair, I have no concrete proof of what Edelgard alleges," Byleth spoke up. "But you would think her uncle would have something to say about such a high-profile case, especially one involving a family member... even just a public statement of support if nothing else."

"It d-does seem strange... b-but what are we g-going to d-do about th-this?" Rei asked. "Something t-tells me th-that the governor has his t-tracks t-too well c-covered t-to take him down b-by legal means..."

"I quite agree. There have been rumors, but nothing concrete," Blackquill stated.

"And I would rather not do anything against Lord Arundel without concrete proof," Count Hevring concurred.

"Wait," Byleth put a fist to his chin in thought. "The Knights of Seiros that guard Garreg Mach. They don't report to the governor, but directly to Bishop Rhea, right?"

"That is true, though many see the knights as outmoded and obsolete nowadays," Weldmar affirmed. "What are you suggesting...?"

"I'm not sure yet. I need a little time to think this over," Byleth demurred. "Miss Ryghts, I'm sorry to burden you, but do you think you could stay with us a little longer?"

"Um... I g-guess a few more d-days wouldn't hurt," the former villain replied.

"Thank you. Let's go speak with Lady Rhea. By your leave, Chief Magistrate." Giving a brief bow to Count Hevring, Byleth turned to leave...

"Hold," Blackquill spoke up. "Let me come along, if you would. If you're plotting what I think you're plotting, you might need my help..."

"Well, like the professor says, don't take any hasty actions," Weldmar advised. "Because I'm not going to cover for you if this goes badly..."

"Perish the thought, Your Honor," Blackquill chuckled. "Shall we head out, then?"

And so the trio departed for Garreg Mach...

*Episode 35- End*